Chapter 14
KINGSTON
The wind whips down the beach, sending Katherine’s hair flying. She reaches up with both hands to contain the wild tresses.
“Hit us,” I say, ready for whatever my girl wants to know.
“Of course,” Gabe and Alex agree in unison.
Does she want us to find a secluded spot on the beach to make love? It’d knock off an item on my bucket list.
Or maybe a foursome among the waves? Alex can hold his breath for an insanely long time.
In the dim light, I see her bite her lip. Oh, so not a fun and frisky question. Okay.
“Figuratively,” I add, going for gentle humor. That makes her smile a bit and straighten her shoulders.
“We, we’re in this, right? The four of us?”
My jaw drops, and I quickly snap it shut as I glance at Gabe and then Alex. From what I can tell, they’re wearing matching expressions of surprise.
“Totally,” I say. “You’re ours. And we’re yours.”
“Where’s this coming from, Katie Bird?” Alex asks, stepping behind her, hands closing over her shoulders. The man always has her back, figuratively and literally.
She looks to Gabe, instinctively understanding that he’s the one whose demons will be shouting the loudest.
“Ever worry you have it too good?” she asks, her voice soft but steady.
He nods.
“It’s just been a really great weekend. Perfect, actually. But there’s a voice in the back of my head saying that the universe is going to snatch it all away. Snatch the three of you away.”
“Does that voice sound like Lucinda Winthrop?” I ask because I’d bet my sailboat that most of the doubts in Wildfire’s head are from that evil bitch.
Sure, second-guessing is normal. Self-critique can be productive if used wisely. But this sounds like the weird black and white shit Lucinda held over Katherine’s head to keep her in line.
“Now that you mention it.” There’s a smile in her voice, and the ache in my chest eases.
“We’re in this, Princess. The four of us. Remember when I said you’re the center of our world?”
He glances at me, then Alex and then back to her. It’s no coincidence we’re circling her. Surrounding her. She’s literally in the center.
“You’re the nucleus, sweetheart,” Gabe adds. “You breathe, we breathe.”
“Oh—” She presses three fingertips to her lips, overcome with emotion. Then she fans herself as if that’s going to stop the tears.
“What’s this really about, Princess?”
She takes a deep, steadying breath, and her hand drops away. “I need one of you to marry me, and I refuse to pick.”
There’s a beat of silence, and once again we’re left staring at each other in the sliver of moonlight. A giggle carries down the beach, and I glance over my shoulder.
“I know this is all still pretty new, and I don’t even know how you guys feel about, you know, marriage,” she says to Gabe and Alex. Her breath’s coming faster now as she winds herself up for a rejection. “I don’t even know how I—”
She looks at me then. My brows lift, waiting. Because it’s been her for so long, I hadn’t ever considered anyone else. Sighing, she gives a quick back-and-forth jerk of her head.
“That’s not true. I want what your parents have.
What my aunt and uncle have. Deep down, I think I’ve always wanted that sort of relationship, but I knew it was never in the cards for me, so I told myself it didn’t matter.
No one was marriage material, and I wasn’t looking.
And then, for a while, I let the what-ifs win and entertained the idea again. ”
My stomach sours. I know exactly what she’s alluding to. I’d shut her down. I reach for her, and she grabs my hand. I give her a reassuring squeeze.
Gabe clears his throat. Somehow, he seems closer, but I didn’t notice him move. “That morning, King told me I’d be lucky to marry you.”
He takes her by the hips and turns her to face him.
“He was a thousand percent right. And I knew it the instant the words left his mouth. I love you, Katherine Montgomery. I think I fell in love with you the moment I laid eyes on you. You have an uncanny knack for keeping me in line, making me a better person, and challenging me with nothing more than a quirked eyebrow. This doesn’t need to be conventional for me to know I fully intend to spend the rest of my life making that eyebrow raise. ”
“Gabe—” She clasps his face between her hands, swaying into him, peppering him with kisses.
When they come up for air, Alex is right there, turning her to him, a hand cupping her jaw, fingers splayed down her throat.
“I’d marry you in a heartbeat, Katie Bird. Today. Tomorrow. Just name the time, and I’m there.”
She laughs and throws an arm around his neck, pulling him down for a kiss. When he lets her go, she spins to me, reaching for my hands.
“The way I see it, Wildfire, you have to marry all of us.”
Her giggle is so sweet as she squeezes my fingers.
“That would make me feel better,” she says at the same time Gabe says, “Don’t think that’s legal, K.
“Legal schmegal.”
“You need to be married by your birthday?” Alex confirms.
“Yeah.”
“So this isn’t something you need to worry about tonight. For now—” He hooks a finger under her chin, making her meet his gaze. “Know that we’re all here for the long haul. We’re all in this together, legalities be damned. We will gladly make you our wife.”
That last word sends a tremor through her, and I feel her knees start to buckle.
“Oop…” I swing her up into my arms.
We make it back to the house in record time. There’s a fresh round of drywall dust clinging to everything from the kitchen to the living room. All the furniture Gabe had delivered is out in the packing container.
“Come on,” I say, carrying her toward the main suite. “They haven’t started in here yet.”
Our footsteps are urgent on the old hardwood floors. Lust coils low in my belly. My cock’s already at attention, growing harder by the second.
All this talk of love and marriage has set off my kinks. God, I can’t wait to put a ring on it.
Gabe and I brought the bed back in here earlier, just in case. I love this whole teamwork thing.
At the foot of the bed, I set Katherine down.
She moans as her feet touch the floor, turning to me immediately.
Sinking her fingers into my hair, she raises up and presses her lips to mine.
I catch her around the hips, pulling her against my erection.
She moans again, longer this time, while snagging my lower lip between her teeth.
“Carrying me across the threshold already?” she asks.
“You know it, babe.”
Alex and Gabe surround us, already undressed. She lets them rid her of her little cardigan, then slips the summer dress over her head, tossing it onto the pile. By the time she’s standing there in her panties and bra, I’ve got my shoes and shirt off.
She reaches for my pants, fingers flicking the button open.
Alex and Gabe touch her all over. It’s a silent but unanimous decision that passes between us on some cosmic level.
Tonight’s about her. Claiming her. Making sure she knows without a shadow of doubt we want her, that we fully intend to wife her up.
She reaches inside my shorts, cool fingers wrapping around my hard and ready dick. I hiss out a breath and brace myself against her shoulders. I don’t know why that feels so damned good. Why do my knees feel weak?
Gabe chuckles softly, then leans over and presses a kiss to Alex’s shoulder. Happiness flares in my chest.
“Are you wet for us, Wildfire?”
That snaps the other two to attention. I almost laugh.
“Mmm.”
“Maybe Gabe should check.”
He’s right there, sliding a hand down her front, past her belly button to the apex of her thighs.
“Spread those pretty thighs for him, babe.”
Her grip on my cock tightens, torturing me with slow strokes. My head falls forward, and our foreheads touch.
Alex climbs onto the bed behind us, and I can just imagine that big body stretched out, cock pointed to the sky.
“So wet,” Gabe confirms. His hand stays between her thighs, fingers moving in a way that makes her hips shudder.
I drop a hand to her breasts, tracing the edge of her bra. My light touch makes her chest lift, eager for more.
“King—”
“You whimper my name so nicely.”
Abandoning the bra, I wrap my hand around her throat. Her pulse skips a beat, then thunders against my palm. Fuck, this is straight out of my dreams. So soft and yearning beneath my hands.
“Who are you?” she asks, breathless. The question is laced with confusion but not apprehension. More like genuine curiosity, thank goodness.
“I’m me. The man who’s loved you from afar for so long.”
She lets go of my cock, lifting her hand to my face. Her fingertips glide over my skin in the briefest of touches. “You’re here now.”
Gabe snakes his other arm around her middle, holding her to him. Her lashes droop as she relaxes in his hold, giving herself over to the pleasure of his talented fingers. There’s something to be said for computer geeks who can type a bazillion words a minute.
She’s so damn beautiful in his arms, so curvy against the lean planes of him.
“That’s it, Princess,” he murmurs against her temple.
She drops a hand back to clasp his thigh, and as her other hand starts to fall away from my cheek, I snag the tip of her pointer finger between my teeth. Her gasp is so fucking sexy, and so is the way her eyes flash with mischief and need as they meet mine.
Tipping her head back against Gabe’s shoulder, her hips move in a steady circle, pressing her clit against his fingers exactly when she needs it.
“I want a taste,” I tell him.
Katherine protests weakly as he lifts his hand to my lips. I open and suck both of their fingers inside, moaning as her sweetness hits my tongue. Delicious and so uniquely Wildfire.
I bob my head, simulating a blow job, sinking deeper around Gabe’s fingers.
They gasp in unison, so soft and hungry.